A pouched product for oral use comprising a particulate filling material

ABSTRACT

Described is a pouched product for oral use that includes a liquid permeable cover material and a portion sized amount of a filling material comprising a first type of particles, the filling material being enclosed by the liquid permeable cover material, the pouched product having a first main surface and a second main surface and a thickness between the first main surface and the second main surface. The particles of the first type of particles have an average particle size within the range of from 0.3 mm to 3.0 mm and a pre-use moisture content of from 1% by weight of the filling material to 35% by weight of the filling material. The first type of particles are water insoluble particles. The filling material has one or more water soluble components. The pouched product has a pre-use thickness (t 1 ) and a post-use thickness (t 2 ) and a ratio (t 2/ t 1 ) between the post-use thickness (t 1 ) and the pre-use thickness (t 1 ) which is in the range of from 1.0 to 1.5.

TECHNICAL FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a pouched product for oral usecomprising a liquid permeable cover material and a portion sized amountof a filling material comprising a first type of particles, the firsttype of particles being water insoluble particles, the filling materialbeing enclosed by the liquid permeable cover material, the pouchedproduct having a first main surface and a second main surface and athickness between the first main surface and the second main surface.

BACKGROUND

An oral pouched product as disclosed herein, is intended for use in theoral cavity, such as by buccal placement e.g., by placing the pouchedproduct between the upper or lower gum and the lip or cheek. A pouchedsmokeless tobacco product may also be referred to as a portion-packedsmokeless tobacco product for oral use. The pouched product is normallysized and configured to fit comfortably and discreetly in a user's mouthbetween the upper or lower gum and the lip or cheek.

Traditionally, oral pouched products are used in the oral cavity of aconsumer to provide a user with the benefits of an active substance suchas nicotine, caffeine, and/or different flavors. A common type ofnicotine containing oral pouched products is oral smokeless tobaccoproducts. Such products generally comprise water, salt, pH adjuster(s)and additional components such as flavors and humectants. Commonly,these products are called snuff.

Oral pouched nicotine containing products comprising no tobacco, or onlya small amount of tobacco are becoming increasingly popular amongconsumers due to inter alia their appealing appearance, freshness andtaste. Moreover, this kind of product allows a user to enjoy nicotinewithout being exposed to tobacco. The tobacco free or almost tobaccofree oral pouched products are usually flavored compositions comprisinga filling material which may e.g., comprise microcrystalline celluloseor fiber material derived from plants other than tobacco.

Further types of oral pouched products are those which only deliver aflavor into the oral cavity and those which are designed for deliveringactive substances other than nicotine.

Oral pouched products are typically used by a consumer by placing thepouch between the upper or lower gum and the lip and retaining it therefor a limited period of time. The product is configured to fitcomfortably and discreetly in the user's mouth. The pouch material holdsthe filling material in place allowing saliva to pass into the fillingmaterial and allowing flavors and active substances such as nicotine todiffuse from the filling material into the consumer's mouth.

An objective with the disclosure herein is to offer an oral pouchedproduct containing a filling material having improved properties, inparticular regarding mouthfeel and user satisfaction.

SUMMARY

The above object may be achieved with an oral pouched product accordingto claim 1. Variations of the disclosure are set out in the dependentclaims and in the following description.

The pouched product for oral use as disclosed herein comprises a liquidpermeable cover material and a filling material comprising a first typeof particles, the first type of particles being water insolubleparticles, the filling material being enclosed by the liquid permeablecover material, the pouched product having a first main surface and asecond main surface and a thickness between the first main surface andthe second main surface. The particles of the first type of particleshave an average particle size within the range of from 0.5 mm to 3.0 mmand the filling material has a pre-use moisture content of from 1% byweight of the filling material to 35% by weight of the filling material.The filling material comprises one or more water soluble components. Thepouched product has a pre-use thickness determined as the maximumdistance between the two main surfaces of the oral pouched product at anapplied pressure force of 0.5 N and a post-use thickness determined asthe maximum distance between the two main surfaces of the oral pouchedproduct at an applied pressure force of 0.5 N after a use period of 10minutes according to the test procedure disclosed herein and a ratiobetween the post-use thickness and the pre-use thickness being in therange of from 1.0 to 1.5, such as from 1. to 1.4, such as from 1.0 to1.35, such as from 1.0 to 1.3, or from 1.0 to 1.25. A particularlypreferred range of the ratio between the pre-use thickness and thepost-use thickness may be from 1.0 to 1.2.

The volume of the water insoluble first type of particles preferablydefines the volume of the filling material, with any additionalcomponent or components of the filling material of the oral pouchedproduct contributing only to a negligible or very small extent to thevolume of the filling material. By “a very small extent” as used herein,is implied a contribution to the volume of the filling material bycomponents other than the first type of particles of less than 5%, suchas of less than 3%, of less than 2%, preferably of less than 1%.

The filling material in the oral pouched products of the presentdisclosure has a volume after use which is in the same order as thevolume before use of the oral pouched product, or greater, which isreflected by the ratio between the pre-use thickness and the post-usethickness of the oral pouched product. This means that the volume of theoral pouched product remains largely unchanged during use of the oralpouched product, such that the thickness of the oral pouched product isthe same or slightly greater during use of the oral pouched product inthe oral cavity of a human being as compared to the pre-use thickness.This is a property of the oral pouched product that has been found to beappreciated by many users. An oral pouched product which does not losethickness during use may be perceived as retaining the mouthfeel of anew fresh product and to be more malleable and satisfactory to keep inthe mouth for a longer time of use.

An oral pouched product in which the thickness increases slightly duringuse may be beneficial, as it offers a product which may be made thin forpackaging, but which will expand to an expected thickness when placed inthe oral cavity of a user. Such products may be packed with a greaternumber of products in a user container of a conventional size or apredetermined number of products may be packed in a smaller and lessconspicuous user container than a corresponding number of conventional,non-expanding oral pouched products.

In an oral pouched product as disclosed herein, the product thicknessmay increase by up to 50% during use, such as by 10% to 40%, such as by15% to 30%, such as by 15% to 25%, such as by 15% to 20%.

The filling material in the oral pouched products as disclosed hereinhave a pre-use moisture content as determined by the method disclosedherein of from 1% by weight of the filling material to 35% by weight ofthe filling material. The filling material in the oral pouched productsas disclosed herein may have a pre-use moisture content as determined bythe method disclosed herein of from 1% by weight of the filling materialto 30% by weight of the filling material, such as from 1% by weight ofthe filling material to 25% by weight of the filling material, such asfrom 1% by weight of the filling material to 20% by weight of thefilling material, such as from 1% by weight of the filling material to15% by weight of the filling material, such as from 1% by weight of thefilling material to 7% by weight of the filling material, such as from5% by weight of the filling material to 30% by weight of the fillingmaterial, such as from 5% by weight of the filling material to 25% byweight of the filling material, such as from 5% by weight of the fillingmaterial to 20% by weight of the filling material, such as from 5% byweight of the filling material to 15% by weight of the filling material,such as from 10% by weight of the filling material to 20% by weight ofthe filling material, such as from 10% by weight of the filling materialto 15% by weight of the filling material.

A filling material in an oral pouched product as disclosed herein andhaving a relatively low pre-use moisture content as set out above, isperceived by users to be fresh and agreeable to handle when taking itout of a user container and tucking it in, e.g., between the upper orlower lip and the gum of the user. A relatively low pre-use moisturecontent also allows the first type of particles constituting the bulkvolume of the filling material to move more freely in relation to eachother, which makes the oral pouched product easier to shape and to bemade to conform to the shape of the space where the oral pouched productis placed in the oral cavity of the user.

It may be preferred that the moisture content of the filling material inthe oral pouched products as disclosed herein is less than 20% byweight.

The water insoluble particles of the first type of particles may beparticles of microcrystalline cellulose, water insoluble starch, silica,or a mixture thereof.

The first type of particles may constitute 75% by dry weight to 99% bydry weight of the filling material, such as 80% by dry weight to 98% bydry weight of the filling material or 85% by dry weight to 98% by dryweight of the filling material. The first type of particles mayconstitute 85% by dry weight to 99% by dry weight of the fillingmaterial.

The particles of the first type of particles are relatively largeparticles and have an average particle size within the range of from 0.5mm to 3.0 mm, such as 0.5 mm to 2.5 mm, such as from 0.6 mm to 2.5 mm,such as from 0.7 mm to 2 mm, such as from 0.8 mm to 1.5 mm, such as from0.85 mm to 1.2 mm.

The particles of the first type of particles may be of generally thesame size, with a narrow particle size distribution profile. Aparticulate material having a narrow particle size distribution profilehas a more predictable volume than a particulate material comprisingparticles of differing sizes. Preferably, the first type of particlesincludes less than 0.5% of particles passing through a sieve having amesh size of 250 μm.

The particles of the particulate material in the filling material arepreferably spherical or generally spherical particles having asphericity within the range of from 0.7 to 1.0, such as from 0.8 to 1.0and a diameter of from 0.5 mm to 3 mm, such as from 0.7 mm to 3 mm.

Sphericity and particle size may be determined with the aid of a QicPicimage analysis instrument from 2012, Sympatec GmbH, ID No. 290-D, withRodos/L dispersion line ID NO 214D and Vibri/L sample feeding ID NO 273,or equivalent equipment. A well dispersed particle flow is led throughthe image plane of the instrument. If the particles are small, a highnumber of particles per image frame may be captured, such as in theorder of 50,000 to 100,000 particles per image frame. For largerparticles, such as particles having a particle size from 300 μm to 3000μm, the number of particles per image frame may be substantially lessand may be in the order of from 300 to 2000 particles per image frame.

The particles of the first type of particles may be relatively dense,non-porous particles having a particle density in the range of from 0.8g/cm³ to 1.7 g/cm³, such as from 1.0 g/cm³ to 1.5 g/cm³, such as from1.1 g/cm³ to 1.4 g/cm³.

The filling material of the oral pouched product as disclosed herein maycomprise nicotine.

The nicotine may be added in the filling material in the form of anicotine compound. The nicotine compound may be a nicotine base and/ormay be selected from the group consisting of nicotine hydrochloride,nicotine dihydrochloride, nicotine monotartrate, nicotine bitartrate,nicotine bitartrate dihydrate, nicotine sulphate, nicotine zinc chloridemonohydrate and nicotine salicylate, nicotine benzoate, nicotinepolacrilex and any combination thereof.

The filling material of the oral pouched product as disclosed herein isa tobacco free filling material or a filling material having a lowtobacco content, the filling material comprising tobacco material in anamount within the range of from 0.05 wt % to 10 wt %, such as from 0.05wt % to 5 wt %, such as from 0.05 wt % to 1 wt % or from 0.2 wt % to 1wt %, based on the total weight of said filling material. In such case,the tobacco material may be a nicotine source. The tobacco material maybe the only nicotine source or may be a nicotine source in addition toone or more of the nicotine compounds disclosed herein. The particulatematerial in the filling material as disclosed herein is preferablyconstituted by tobacco free particles, such as tobacco free particles ofmicrocrystalline cellulose, water insoluble starch, silica, or a mixtureof two or more different types of tobacco free particles. A tobacco freefilling material or tobacco free particles may contain trace amounts oftobacco, below 0.05 wt %.

The filling material of the oral pouched product as disclosed herein maycomprise an additive selected from the group consisting of a flavouringagent, a sweetener, a humectant, and any mixture thereof.

The additive may comprise or consists of a flavouring agent, such as aflavour oil, such as a hydrophobic flavour oil, such as a syntheticflavour, such as a nature-identical flavour.

The filling material of the oral pouched product as disclosed herein maybe free from tobacco material. A tobacco free filling material maycontain material derived from other plant sources such as coffee, tea,herbs, etc., and/or any suitable flavouring agent, sweetener, etc., asknown in the art.

The one or more water soluble components and other additives arepreferably applied to the first type of water insoluble particles in thefilling material after the water insoluble particles have been formed.By applying the one or more water soluble components and other additivesto pre-formed water insoluble particles, a major part of the additiveswill remain on or at the surface of the water insoluble particles andwill not penetrate into the interior of the water insoluble particlessuch that all or substantially all additives are present on or at thesurface of the water insoluble particles in the filling material. Thewater insoluble particles are preferably homogeneous hydrophilicparticles, such as particles of one or more of microcrystallinecellulose, water insoluble starch and silica. It may further bepreferred that the water insoluble particles are constituted bymono-component particles of one or more of microcrystalline cellulose,water insoluble starch and silica.

The filling material of the oral pouched product as disclosed herein maycomprise a second type of particles in addition to the water insolublefirst type of particles, the second type of particles having an averageparticle size which is less than the average particle size of the waterinsoluble first type of particles.

It may be preferred that the particles of the second type of particleshave a size which is sufficiently small to allow the second type ofparticles to be at least partly accommodated within the intersticesbetween the water insoluble particles of the first type of particles. Aratio between the average particle size of the first type of particlesand the average particle size of the second type of particles may bewithin the range of from 2 to 10.

The second type of particles may be partially or completely watersoluble particles.

In the pouched product disclosed herein, at least one of the one or morewater soluble components may be present on an outer surface of at leastsome of the particles of the first type of particles, such as on 20% to100% of the first type of particles, or on 50% to 100% of the first typeof particles, or on 80% to 100% of the first type of particles.

In the pouched product disclosed herein, at least one of the one or morewater soluble components may be present in interstices between theparticles of the first type of particles.

At least one of the one or more water soluble components may be presentboth on an outer surface of at least some of the particles of the firsttype of particles and in interstices between the particles of the firsttype of particles.

The liquid permeable cover material of the oral pouched product may be anonwoven material, such as a nonwoven material comprising staple fibresof regenerated cellulose. The staple fibres may be viscose staple fibresand the nonwoven material may further comprise a binder, such as abinder used for chemical bonding. The liquid permeable outer covermaterial may have a basis weight in the range of from 10 g/m² to 30g/m², such as from 10 g/m² to 28 g/m², such as from 15 g/m² to 25 g/m².A cover material having a relatively low basis weight has a high airpermeability and constitutes a minimal barrier to saliva transport intoand out of the filling material in the oral pouched product. Such covermaterials have also been found to offer sensory benefits, in particularwhen combined with particles having a relatively large particle size, asdisclosed herein. Large particles which are freely movable inside thecover and which may be felt through the cover material may contribute tothe particulate filling material in the oral pouched product beingperceived as having a pleasantly fluid quality. In an oral pouchedproduct as disclosed herein, the volume of the filling material ispreferably defined by the volume of the large, water insoluble particlesbefore, during and after use of the pouched product.

Thereby, the feel of the pouched product against the mucous membranes ina user's mouth remains substantially the same during use of the product.

Definitions

The terms “oral” and “oral use” refer to a use of a product in contactwith mucous membranes in the oral cavity of a human being, such asbuccal placement of the product in the oral cavity. The products fororal use as disclosed herein are intended to be placed in their entiretyin the oral cavity and are not intended to be swallowed.

As used herein the terms “pouched product for oral use” or “oral pouchedproduct” refer to a portion of a smokeless composition containing salivaextractables and being packed in a saliva-permeable pouch material.

A “particle” as used herein is a three-dimensional piece of materialhaving a maximum dimension of less than 5 mm and an aspect ratio of from0.3 to 1. The “aspect ratio” AR as used herein, is calculated as thewidth, w, of the particle divided by the length l, of the particle wherethe length is determined as the largest dimension of the particle andthe width is determined as the largest dimension orthogonal to thelength: A_(R)=w/l. A particle having an aspect ratio of 1 may e.g., be aperfect sphere or cube. The particles which are useful as the first typeof particles in the filling material of the oral pouched productsdisclosed herein may have a regular shape such as a spherical shape, acubic shape, a cylindrical shape, etc. or may have an irregular shapewith regular or near-regular shapes being generally preferred. Theparticles may have generally smooth outer surfaces or may have smallaberrations in the outer surfaces.

A “water insoluble particle” as referred to herein is a particle whichdoes not dissolve when subjected to saliva in the oral cavity of a userand which retains or substantially retains its shape when incorporatedin a pouched product for oral use. The water insolubility also meansthat the particle size of the water insoluble particles as referred toherein does not diminish during use of an oral pouched productincorporating the water insoluble particles. The shape and the size ofthe water insoluble particles may remain substantially unaffected duringuse. However, a certain amount of swelling of the water insolubleparticles may be advantageous. The swelling should preferably be lessthan 50% of the pre-use volume, such as less than 30% of the pre-usevolume of the water insoluble particles and more preferably less than20% of the pre-use volume of the water insoluble particles.

As used herein, the term “moisture content” refers to the percent byweight, wt %, of oven volatile substances, such as water and other ovenvolatiles (e.g., propylene glycol) which is present in a componentmaterial, a composition or a product and is determined according to theLoss on Drying (LOD) method disclosed herein.

The “thy weight” of a material, a composition, or a product iscalculated by detracting the amount of moisture from the total weight ofthe material, composition or product, the moisture content beingdetermined by the Loss on Drying method as disclosed herein.

As used herein, the term “water content” refers to the percent byweight, wt %, of water in a component material, a composition, or aproduct. The water content may be determined by using a standardizedmethod for water analysis, such as Karl Fischer titration or gaschromatography, GC.

The term “additional component” refers to any component except water,which is provided in addition to the first type of particles in thefilling material as disclosed herein, such as salts (e.g. sodiumchloride, potassium chloride, magnesium chloride, calcium chloride andany combinations thereof), pH adjusters (e.g. sodium hydroxide,potassium hydroxide, potassium carbonate, sodium carbonate or sodiumbicarbonate), flavouring agents, sweeteners, colorants, humectants (e.g.propylene glycol or glycerol), antioxidants, preservatives (e.g.potassium sorbate), binders, tobacco and non-tobacco plant material. Thewater-soluble component or water-soluble components which are part ofthe filling material in the oral pouched products as disclosed hereinconstitute one or more additional components.

The terms “flavour” or “flavouring agent” are used herein for substancesused to influence the aroma and/or taste of the oral pouched product.The flavours may be any food-grade natural or synthetic flavour as knownin the art and may include, without limitation, essential oils, singleflavour compounds, compounded flavourings, and extracts.

By “tobacco” or “tobacco material” is meant any part, e.g., leaves,stems, stalks, and flowers, of any member of the genus Nicotiana.

By a “cover material” as used herein is implied any suitable salivapermeable packaging material as known in the art. The cover material mayalso be referred to as “pouch material” and may be a nonwoven material,a material made by conventional textile production methods such asweaving or knitting or may be an apertured plastic film or netting. Anonwoven material suitable for use as cover material may be a nonwovenmaterial comprising staple fibres, such as staple fibres of regeneratedcellulose e.g., viscose rayon staple fibres and a binder, such as apolyacrylate binder. Such nonwoven materials are commonly produced bycarding the staple fibres to form a fibrous web, followed byconsolidating the carded fibrous web by means of the binder.Alternatively, the nonwoven material may comprise fibres which areformed into a nonwoven web by spunbonding, hydroentangling, meltblowing,etc. The fibres used in such processes are generally thermoplasticfibres which are thermally bonded to form a coherent nonwoven web. Thecovering material may optionally comprise additional components such asflavouring agents and/or colorants.

Commonly used cover materials, such as the viscose nonwovens disclosedherein, are generally inelastic and non-stretchable materials which arerelatively inexpensive to produce and easy to handle in a productionprocess.

Pouched products for oral use are normally sized and configured to fitcomfortably and discreetly in a user's mouth between the upper or lowergum and the lip. In general, pouched products for oral use have agenerally rectangular shape. Some typical shapes (length×width) ofcommercially available pouched products for oral use are, for instance,35 mm×20 mm, 34/35 mm×14 mm, 33/34 mm×18 mm, 27/28 mm×14 mm, 34 mm×10 mmand 38×14 mm. Typical pouched products for oral use may have a maximumlength within the range of from 25 mm to 40 mm along the longitudinaldirection of the product and a maximum width within the range of from 5mm to 20 mm along the transverse direction of the product. The pre-usethickness of the pouched product is normally within the range of from 2mm to 8 mm. The total weight of commercially available pouched productsfor oral use is typically within the range from about 0.3 g to about 3.5g, such as from about 0.5 g to 1.7 g, per pouched product. The volume ofa portion of filling material in a pouch may be in the range of from 0.5cm³ to 1.5 cm³, depending on the size of the pouch.

A “user container” typically contains in the range of 10-30 pouchedproducts, such as in the range of 20 to 25 pouched products. The pouchedproducts may be placed randomly in the user container or in a pattern,for instance as described in WO 2012/069505 A1. The user container asdisclosed herein is a consumer package having a shape and a size adaptedfor conveniently carrying the consumer package in a pocket or in ahandbag and may be used for packaging any known type of pouched productfor oral use. The user container may include a disposal compartment forstorage of used oral pouched products. The disposal compartment isseparated from the compartment in the container where the fresh oralpouched products are stored until use.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will be further explained hereinafter by means ofnon-limiting examples and with reference to the appended drawingswherein:

FIG. 1 shows a pouched product for oral use;

FIG. 2 shows a cross-section along the line II-II through the pouchedproduct of FIG. 1 ;

FIG. 3 shows generally spherical particles suitable as a first type ofparticles;

FIGS. 4 a-4 d show some alternative shapes for the first type ofparticles; and

FIGS. 5 a-5 b show schematically how the thickness of a pouched productfor oral use is determined.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

It is to be understood that the drawings are schematic and thatindividual components are not necessarily drawn to scale.

The pouched product 1 for oral use which is shown in FIGS. 1 and 2comprises a liquid permeable cover material 2 and a portion sized amountof a filling material 3 comprising a first type of particles 4 enclosedby the liquid permeable cover material 2. The cover material 2 may beany suitable type of cover material as disclosed herein and is formedinto a generally rectangular pouch into which the filling material 3 hasbeen inserted.

A common way of making a pouched product having a generally rectangularpillow-like shape, such as the pouched product 1 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, is either to provide the cover material as a seamless and endless tubeor to form a flat web of cover material into an endless tube which isprovided with a continuous seal in the longitudinal direction of theendless tube. The endless tube is subsequently intermittently sealed inthe transverse direction of the endless tube while filling the endlesstube with filling material into pockets which are created between thetransverse seals. Individual pouched products are severed from thefilled and sealed tube of cover material and are usually packed in usercontainers. Sealing of the cover material may be made with any suitablemethod or combination of methods, such as by means of adhesive, heatsealing, ultrasonic welding, needling, etc. Heat sealing and ultrasonicwelding require the cover material to contain at least a functionalamount of thermoplastic material, such as thermoplastic fibres orthermoplastic binders.

The longitudinal seal created during manufacturing appears as alongitudinal seal 6 extending along the length I of the pouched product1 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2 . No such seal will be present if the covermaterial is provided in the form of an endless seam-less tube. Thetransverse seals form end seals 7 which define the width w of thepouched product 1. The pouched product 1 has a first main surface 8 anda second main surface 9 and a thickness t being defined as the greatestperpendicular distance between the first main surface 8 and the secondmain surface 9, as measured according to the method as disclosed herein.The first type of particles 4 are water insoluble particles and thefilling material 3 has a pre-use moisture content of from 1% by weightof the filling material to 35% by weight of the filling material andcomprises one or more water soluble components. The pouched product 1has a pre-use thickness t1 and a post-use thickness t2 and a ratio t2/t1between the post-use thickness t1 and the pre-use thickness t1 being inthe range of from 1.0 to 1.5.

The first type of particles 4 do not dissolve when being subjected tosaliva in the oral cavity of a user which means that they have a highshape stability and do not diminish in size during use.

The first type of particles 4 may constitute a very high proportion ofthe total dry weight of the filling material 3, such as 80% by dryweight to 99% by dry weight of the filling material.

The filling material 3 further comprises one or more water solublecomponents 11, such as flavours, sweeteners, active ingredients such asnicotine, etc. as disclosed herein.

A part of a filling material 3 is shown in FIG. 3 , the filling material3 comprising a plurality of generally spherical water insolubleparticles constituting the first type of particles 4 of an oral pouchedproduct as disclosed herein.

The particles of the first type of particles 4 have a relatively largeaverage particle size within the range of from 0.5 mm to 3.0 mm. Byusing large water insoluble particles for the first type of particles 4,a major part of the water soluble components 11, i.e. components whichare soluble in water and saliva, may to a large extent be present in thefilling material on surfaces of the first type of particles 4 which faceinterstices 12 between the first type of particles 4. In that manner,any water soluble components 12 may be substantially “concealed” withinthe mass of the filling material 3 where they do not add to the volumeof the filling material 3.

FIG. 3 shows only a very small number of the first type of particles 4.In a full portion of filling material for an oral pouched product 1, thenumber of the first type of particles is considerably higher, such as inthe order of 150 particles or more which means that a large majority ofthe particle surfaces will be located in the filling material 3.

As disclosed herein, the first type of particles 4 may be dense,non-porous particles having a particle density in the range of from 0.8g/cm³ to 1.7 g/cm³, such as from 1.0 g/cm³ to 1.5 g/cm³, such as from1.1 g/cm³ to 1.4 g/cm³. In such dense non-porous particles, no, orsubstantially no water soluble components 11 are present within thefirst type of particles 4 themselves.

As set out herein, the filling material 3 in addition to the waterinsoluble first type of particles may comprise a second type ofparticles (not shown), which may be water soluble particles and whichhave an average particle size which is less than the average particlesize of the first type of particles 4. Preferably, the second type ofparticles are sufficiently small to be accommodated within interstices12 between the first type of particles 4.

FIGS. 4 a, 4 b, 4 c and 4 d illustrate some alternative shapes for thefirst type of particles 4 of the filling materials 3 as disclosedherein.

The particles 4 which are shown in FIG. 4 a have a substantially cubicshape, the particles 4 which are shown in FIG. 4 b are grain-shaped, theparticles 4 which are shown in FIG. 4 c have a substantially cylindricalshape and the particles 4 which are shown in FIG. 4 d have an irregularshape. The particles 4 in FIG. 4 a , has an aspect ratio w/l which isapproximately 1, while the particles 4 shown in FIGS. 4 b-4 d have asmaller aspect ratio.

EXAMPLES AND DESCRIPTION OF TEST METHODS Method for Determining MoistureContent, Loss on Drying (LOD)

The moisture content as referred to herein may be determined by using amethod based on literature references Federal Register/vol.74, no.4/712-719/Wednesday, Jan. 7, 2009/Notices “Total moisture determination”and AOAC (Association of Official Analytical Chemics), Official Methodsof Analysis 966.02: “Moisture in Tobacco” (1990), Fifth Edition, K.Helrich (ed). In this method, the moisture content is determinedgravimetrically by taking 2.5±0.25 g sample and weighing the sample atambient conditions, herein defined as being at a temperature of 22° C.and a relative humidity of 60%, before evaporation of moisture and aftercompletion of dehydration. Mettler Toledo's Moisture Analyzer HB43, abalance with halogen heating technology, is used (instead of an oven anda balance as in the mentioned literature references) in the experimentsdescribed herein. The sample is heated to 105° C. (instead of 99.5±0.5°C. as in the mentioned literature references). The measurement isstopped when the weight change is less than 1 mg during a 90 second timeframe. The moisture content as weight percent of the sample is thencalculated automatically by the Moisture Analyzer HB43.

Test Method for Determining Thickness of a Pouched Product

Apparatus The thickness of a pouched product is determined using arheometer having a stationary bottom plate 21 and a movable press plate22 as shown in FIGS. 5 a and 5 b.Sample Preparation Each sample is tested before and after use. Whenhandling the sample products, care should be taken not to squeeze thesamples or otherwise disturb the filling material inside the productcover.

Used samples are prepared by a test person placing a non-used sampleproduct under the upper lip and leaving the sample in place under thelip for a use period of 10 minutes. No food or drink should be ingestedduring the use period. If the used samples cannot be tested directly inconnection with the use, each sample oral pouched product is placed inan individual container which is sealed and kept under refrigeration at4° C. The thickness of the used samples should be measured within 24hours after use.

Test Procedure

The rheometer is started according to the start procedure.

An oral pouched product 1 is placed flat with one of the two mainsurfaces 8, 9 on the bottom plate 21 of the rheometer 20, as shown inFIG. 5 a . The oral pouched product 1 is removed from the storagecontainer by hand or by means of a pair of tweezers and care is taken tocenter the sample on the bottom plate to ascertain that the force isevenly distributed over the sample during the measurement.

The measuring sequence is started and the thickness of the sample at alow applied pressure force of 0.5 N is registered.

The pre-use thickness t1 or the post-use thickness t2 of the oralpouched product is determined as the maximum distance between the twomain surfaces 8,9 of the oral pouched product 1 at an applied pressureforce of 0.5 N as shown in FIG. 5 b.

The thickness of a tested oral pouched product is determined as theaverage thickness of tested product samples taken from the same batch oforal pouched products.

EXAMPLES

All sample products had a liquid permeable nonwoven cover material. Theproduct format and the volume of the filling material in the non-usedproducts were the same for Reference 1 and Example 1. The product formatand the volume of the filling material in the non-used products inExample 2 were different from those of Reference 1 and Example 1.

Example 1

Filling material: Total pre-use weight 0.58 g and total pre-use volume0.75 cm 3 . The filling material was constituted by approximately 78% byweight of the total weight of the filling material of particles ofmicrocrystalline cellulose having an average particle size of 945 μm, asphericity of 0.9±0.05, a particle density of 1.3 g/cm³ and a bulkdensity of 0.78 g/cm³, and approximately 9% by weight of additionalcomponents based on the total weight of the filling material. Themoisture content in the filling material was 13% of the total weight ofthe filling material.

Product format: length 28 mm, width 14 mm.

Example 2

Filling material: Total pre-use weight 0.73 g and total pre-use volume1.1 cm³.

The composition of the filling material was the same as in Example 1.

Product format: length 34 mm, width 14.5 mm.

Reference 1

Reference 1 was a commercial product sold under the name ZYN Dry citrus3 mg from Swedish Match North Europe AB.

Filling material: Total pre-use weight 0.34 g and total pre-use volume0.72 cm³. The filling material was constituted by approximately 84% bydry weight of a combination of granules of microcrystalline celluloseand maltitol and approximately 16% by dry weight of hydroxypropylcellulose powder, flavour additives, pH regulators and nicotinebitartrate.

The moisture content in the filling material was 3% of the total weightof the filling material.

Product format: length 28 mm, width 14 mm.

Reference 2

Reference 2 was a commercial product sold under the name Nordic SpiritSpearmint Intense from Nordic Spirit AB.

Filling material: Total pre-use weight 0.68 g. According to theingredient list on the packaging, the bulk of the filling material ismaltitol and cellulose. The filling material further contains chewinggum base, glycerol, propylene glycol, nicotine, sodium carbonate andflavour additives. The moisture content in the filling material was 7.8%of the total weight of the filling material.

Product format: length 35 mm, width 15 mm.

Reference 3

Reference 3 was a commercial product sold under the name LOOP SicilySpritz from Another Snus Factory.

Filling material: Total pre-use weight 0.58 g. According to theingredient list on the packaging, the bulk of the filling material isfiber. The filling material further contains, erythritol, nicotine,flavour additives, xylitol, sodium carbonate, sodium alginate,acesulfame and sodium chloride. The moisture content in the fillingmaterial was 33.3% of the total weight of the filling material.

Product format: length 36 mm, width 13 mm.

Reference 4

Reference 4 was a commercial product sold under the name Shiro SweetMint from AG Snus.

Filling material: Total pre-use weight 0.46 g. According to theingredient list on the packaging, the bulk of the filling material iscellulose. The filling material further contains, glycerol, flavouradditives, sodium chloride, nicotine, sodium carbonate, potassiumsorbate and guar gum. The moisture content in the filling material was20.5% of the total weight of the filling material.

Product format: length 35 mm, width 15 mm.

Reference 5

Filling material: Total pre-use weight 0.54 g and total pre-use volume0.75 cm³.

The composition of the filling material was the same as in Example 1,with the exception that the particles of microcrystalline cellulose hadan average particle size of 445 μm, a sphericity of 0.9±0.05, a particledensity of 1.3 g/cm3 and a bulk density of 0.78 g/cm³. Product format:length 34 mm, width 14.0 mm.

TABLE 1 t1 (mm) t2 (mm) t2/t1 Reference 1 2.92 2.33 0.80 Reference 24.93 4.21 0.85 Reference 3 4.54 4.23 0.93 Reference 4 4.41 4.22 0.96Reference 5 3.34 3.14 0.94 Example 1 3.78 4.46 1.18 Example 2 4.86 5.691.17

As can be seen in Table 1, the oral pouched products according toExamples land 2 were found to increase in thickness to approximately thesame degree during use i.e., by 18% for Example 1 and 17% for Example 2,while the thickness of the reference products was found to decreaseduring use. In References 1-4 the decrease in thickness is believed tobe a combined effect of a large amount of water soluble components inthe filling materials and a small particle size of the insolublecomponents. Reference 5 shows that the particle size affects the abilityof the filling material to retain or increase its original volume duringuse. While the larger particles used in the filling materials ofExamples 1 and 2 were found to cause the thickness of the tested samplesto increase during use, the Reference 5 product having the same fillingmaterial composition as in Examples 1 and 2, except for the particles ofmicrocrystalline cellulose having a smaller size than in Examples 1 and2, was found to decrease in thickness.

1. A pouched product for oral use comprising a liquid permeable covermaterialand a filling material, the filling material comprising a firsttype of particles, the first type of particlesbeing water insolubleparticles, the filling materialbeing enclosed by the liquid permeablecover material, the pouched product having a first main surface and asecond main surface and a thickness between the first main surfaceandthe second main surface characterized in that the filling material isfree from tobacco material or the filling material comprises tobaccomaterial in an amount within the range of from 0.05 wt % to 10 wt %based on the total weight of the filling material, the particles of thefirst type of particleshave an average particle size within the range offrom 0.5 mm to 3.0 mm, the filling materialhas a pre-use moisturecontent of from 1% by weight of the filling materialto 35% by weight ofthe filling material, and the filling materialcomprises one or morewater soluble components, the pouched product having a pre-use thickness(t1) determined as the maximum distance between the two main surfaces ofthe oral pouched product at an applied pressure force of 0.5 N and apost-use thickness (t2) determined as the maximum distance between thetwo main surfaces of the oral pouched product at an applied pressureforce of 0.5 N after a use period of 10 minutes according to the testprocedure disclosed herein, and a ratio (t2/t1) between the post-usethickness (t1) and the pre-use thickness (t1) being in the range of from1.0 to 1.5.
 2. A pouched product according to claim 1, wherein the firsttype of particlesare particles of microcrystalline cellulose, waterinsoluble starch or a mixture thereof.
 3. A pouched product according toclaim 1, wherein the first type of particles constitutes 75% by dryweight to 99% by dry weight of the filling material.
 4. A pouchedproduct according to claim 1, wherein the volume of the water insolublefirst type of particles defines the volume of the filling material, withany additional component or components of the filling materialcontributing by less than 5% to the volume of the filling material.
 5. Apouched product according to claim 1, wherein the fillingmaterialcomprises tobacco material in an amount within the range of from0.05 wt % to 1 wt % based on the total weight of the filling material.6. A pouched product according to claim 1, wherein the thickness of theproduct increases by up to 50% during use.
 7. A pouched productaccording to claim 1, wherein the particles of the first type ofparticles have a particle density in the range of from 0.8 g/cm³ to 1.7g/cm³.
 8. A pouched product according to claim 1, wherein the fillingmaterial comprises nicotine which is added in the filling material inthe form of a nicotine compound.
 9. A pouched product according to claim1, wherein the filling material comprises an additive selected from thegroup consisting of a flavouring agent, a sweetener, a humectant, andany mixture thereof.
 10. A pouched product according to claim 9, whereinthe additive comprises a flavouring agent.
 11. A pouched productaccording to claim 1, wherein the filling material in addition to thewater insoluble first type of particlescomprises a second type ofparticles, the second type of particles having an average particle sizewhich is less than the average particle size of the first type ofparticles.
 12. A pouched product according to claim 11 wherein thesecond type of particles are water soluble particles.
 13. A pouchedproduct according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the one or morewater soluble components is present on an outer surface of at least someof the particles of the first type of particles.
 14. A pouched productaccording to claim 1, wherein at least one of the one or more watersoluble components is present in interstices between the particles ofthe first type of particles.
 15. A pouched product according to claim 1,wherein the liquid permeable cover materialis a nonwoven material.
 16. Apouched product according to claim 15, wherein the liquid permeablecover materialhas a basis weight in the range of from 10 g/m² to 28g/m².